Article discussion - Renovating old fruit trees

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Article discussion - Renovating old fruit trees
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Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 05 3:39 pm Post subject: Article discussion - Renovating old fruit trees
Many people here are looking at growing their own fruit and we have a few home-grown experts of our own. If you've got anything to ask about the article Renovating old fruit trees, or some advice or experience to share, do start here -

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 05 4:44 pm Post subject:

Well worth restoring old trees. I've just finished giving our old tree its winter prune. When we moved in a few years back it had not been touched for years. I gave it a very hard prune and the last couple of years clipped back the long growth to a few buds.

Now the tree not only gives us a good crop of apples (cookers we think but we can't identify them) but a good display of blossom in the spring and the birds love the tree.

I know it may be a bit late to winter prune the tree but it's not become that cold this year and I've been waiting for a cold snap.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Oct 16, 06 7:04 pm Post subject:
It was certainly worth renovating our old apple tree. Here's some of this years crop, the best since we've been here. I've no idea what variety they are and they are a bit too sharp for eating so I assume some form of cooker. However, they don't seem to keep that well so will have to be frozen and prcessed into jams and jellies. There's over 100lb of 'em.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Mon Oct 16, 06 7:18 pm Post subject:
Wow, you fancy having a go at cider then?

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Oct 16, 06 7:26 pm Post subject:
Where'd you get the wine boxes? I'm after some of those, but completely failed to find any anywhere last year. I rang one off liscence, and they huffily said their wine never came in boxes, only in bottles! Oh, and I'll be looking at the article - got a tasty apple that needs taming, and bringing back into fruit. I was just going to chop bits off it, but will have a go at doing it right!

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Oct 16, 06 7:37 pm Post subject:

The wine boxes are just what we have left from our expensive wine habit.

Actually some rather reasonable wine comes in wooden boxes but we pick up the 12 bottle boxes from Majestic. Sometimes they ask for a donation to charity but they are worth a few quid IMHO. Well worth bringing back an old fruit tree as well if you can.

I did think my tree was a cider apple but I've not got a press at the moment, no time to make one this year.

Anders

Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 317

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 06 8:49 am Post subject: pruning chery and pear

Hi,

We've got two old cherry we think needs pruning. They are about 20-25 feet high and very dense. This year they had hardly any fruit.
Can we prune them now (October)? Do we simply thin out the crowns to make them less dense? Anything specific about cherry trees we should be careful of?

We have also got a 25 foot pear tree. To de-horn it do we simply cut 5-6 foot of it each year for a couple of years? Do you have to treat the cuts with anything?

Thanks

Anders

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45669
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 06 9:01 am Post subject:
Cherries should be summer pruned, pears winter. Both will need gradual pruning over a few years, if you go at them too hard you'll either damage the trees or encourage loads of new shoots. I'd suggest a good pruning/fruit book, there's a couple of RHS ones that'll be easy to get hold of from your local library.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 06 8:56 pm Post subject:
deja vu

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 06 9:40 pm Post subject:
Depends where you live, but grants are available for pruning old trees. Herefordshire CC gave me a tenner for each tree. �100 of my taxes back, I guess.

Kinnopio

Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 356

Posted: Wed Oct 18, 06 7:03 pm Post subject:

My (highly productive) pear tree has fallen over, the bulk of its roots are still in the ground and it doesn't seem to have stopped it producing a bumper crop again this year but obviously I want to right it as it is blocking one of my paths and it being so near the soil i fear it may catch a disease. Does anyone have any tips on how to do this? I was thinking of waiting untill winter but am not sure how to go about actually righting it and how to ensure it doesn't fall over again.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Oct 18, 06 7:28 pm Post subject:
Anders, if you can borrow a copy of this Months (Nov '06) Kitchen Garden magazine there's an artcle about renovating old cherry and pear trees.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Wed Oct 18, 06 7:31 pm Post subject:
That article says it all basically the only thing I would add would be stone fruit summer, pip fruit winter & using sharp clean tools. As to righting a pear tree thats blown down your talking intensive care. Definately something to be done when dormant. Probably best to say it was growing in the wrong place & plant a couple elsewhere.

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Wed Oct 18, 06 8:03 pm Post subject:

Kinnopio wrote:

My (highly productive) pear tree has fallen over, the bulk of its roots are still in the ground and it doesn't seem to have stopped it producing a bumper crop again this year ...
Does anyone have any tips on how to do this? I was thinking of waiting untill winter but am not sure how to go about actually righting it and how to ensure it doesn't fall over again.

After the Great Hurricane of 1987, an apple tree blew over, branches on the ground 45�+ lean, and I just set it up again -- but I put it up again within days. (Hurricane Thursday night, stock market crash Friday, tree sorted over the weekend.)
I remember doing a little clearance of the surprisingly small hole left by the uprooted root ball.
A cross-brace (X shape) was lashed (very carefully) together from the the (3 ft long?) halves of an old post.
A rope was attatched as low as possible (3" above ground?) on another tree opposite to the direction of fall. Another rope was fixed to an appropriate strong point on the fallen tree. A branch was chosen that was quite high as the tree ended up.
IIRC, care was taken to wrap the attachment points with old towels, to protect the tree from the rope, and many round turns were taken to spread the load over several inches of the trees.
A hand winch was attached between the two ties and it was cranked back to (more or less) where it had come from. The cross brace was inserted (padded), and lashed into place on the upwind (fall direction) side. After the winch tension was released and it had settled onto the cross-brace, the root hole was packed with topsoil.
The tree got some watering thereafter when anyone remembered.

I mention the detail because the ruddy tree survives to this day - albeit smothered by a ruddy deliberately-planted and deliberately unpruned clematis...

gil
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Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Wed Oct 18, 06 8:29 pm Post subject:

Just re-read the article for the first time in a while - I've got a couple of greengage/yellow plum trees that have gone mental, so will try dehorning next summer. They fruited quite well this year, but much was unreachable.

I've also got a Katy apple tree that is healthy, bushy crowned and never fruits much, though it bears some blossom. Next to it is a seedling Katy, which is much smaller, and does crop. Time for action this winter... Any advice, other than follow article instructions ? Anyone had a similar tree and pruned it to produce fruit. I wouldn't describe it as overgrown, just mysteriously unproductve.

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